The conference will bring academics, attorneys, planners, and urban designers together to consider the effectiveness of climate action planning at the local level. The morning panels, featuring experts from around the country, will be followed by a keynote presentation by Nilda Mesa, former Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Director of the Urban Sustainability and Equity Planning Program at Columbia’s Earth Institute. It will close with a workshop session promoting collaboration between community residents and panelists regarding Hartford’s pending climate action plan — which is being drafted in collaboration with UConn Law students. Ultimately, we hope to identify solutions to local problems, which cumulatively will have a global impact.